Trump Contradicts Border Czar on Minnesota DHS Withdrawal Plans
President Donald Trump has publicly contradicted his border czar Tom Homan regarding potential reductions in Department of Homeland Security personnel deployed to Minnesota, creating confusion about the administration's immigration enforcement strategy following the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti.
Conflicting Statements Emerge
Just hours after freshly dispatched border czar Tom Homan suggested that DHS could reduce its substantial footprint in Minneapolis, President Trump appeared to directly contradict this position during remarks to reporters outside the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The president was attending the premiere of his wife Melania's eponymous documentary film when questioned about whether DHS would withdraw immigration enforcement personnel from Minnesota's largest city. This followed weeks of roving patrols aimed at arresting individuals suspected of being in the United States illegally, operations that have sparked widespread protests across Minneapolis.
"We keep our country safe. We'll do whatever we can to keep our country safe," Trump initially responded when asked about potential withdrawals.
When pressed specifically about whether he would be "pulling back" agents from Minneapolis, the president offered a more definitive response: "No, no. Not at all."
Homan's Earlier Position
The president's firm denial of any withdrawal plans came less than twenty-four hours after Homan told reporters at a Minneapolis press conference that a "drawdown" of federal agents could occur under specific conditions.
Homan suggested reductions might happen if Minnesota authorities followed through on what he described as tentative agreements to hand over individuals without legal status who had been detained in state and municipal correctional facilities.
During that same press conference, Homan acknowledged that "no agency is perfect" following two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minnesota, but emphasized he would not be "surrendering the president's mission" regarding immigration enforcement.
Background to the Deployment
Trump dispatched Homan to Minnesota earlier this week amid mounting criticism from members of his own party regarding how DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol 'acting commander at large' Greg Bovino had conducted themselves immediately after the shooting of Alex Pretti.
Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, was fatally shot by federal agents under controversial circumstances. According to DHS accounts, two agents fired as many as ten shots into Pretti's back as he lay facedown on pavement while being restrained by other Border Patrol and ICE personnel.
The incident began when agents grabbed and tackled Pretti after he came to the aid of a protester who had been shoved by one of the agents. During the struggle to subdue him, one agent relieved Pretti of a 9-millimeter pistol he was legally carrying, but others shot him after another agent shouted "gun."
Controversial Aftermath
Secretary Noem initially claimed the shooting resulted from "a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement," despite Pretti never drawing his legally carried weapon and not confronting agents before being tackled.
She further falsely accused him of having "reacted violently" when agents attempted to disarm him—a claim that appears contradicted by video evidence of the shooting.
Noem later defended her inaccurate statements by attributing them to talking points provided by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the principal architect of Trump's mass deportation campaign. Miller subsequently shifted responsibility by claiming in a statement that he received the false information directly from Border Patrol personnel.
Administration Dynamics
Trump's decision to send Homan—a career ICE and Border Patrol agent who headed ICE during the first eighteen months of Trump's initial term—appeared designed to prevent further political headaches caused by Noem, her de facto chief of staff Corey Lewandowski, and her hand-picked Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.
The contradictory statements from the president and his border czar highlight internal tensions within the administration regarding immigration enforcement strategy following the controversial shooting that has sparked widespread public outrage and intensified scrutiny of federal operations in Minnesota.
